Nearly every modern city faces problems of traffic and transportation system, that are of most concern. Time we spend on our way to work, traffic congestions, contamination of environment - all of these cause substantiated dissatisfaction among inhabitants.

The problem of high levels of chemical and noise pollution from transport is one of the priority environmental problems in the City of Riga.

Presently traffic flow is the main source of air pollution in Riga and is mostly responsible for air pollution with NO₂ and hydrocarbons.
At present the pollution levels in Riga and particularly in the Old Town are close to the limits set by the national guidelines for NO₂ .

24 hours values for ozone are exceeded very frequently, especially in the Spring and Summer.

Of concern are high benzene concentrations.Increased pollution of air with hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene) is observed in the harbour region of Riga.

Traffic intensity and the age and type of the car fleet are main drivers of urban air pollution. Therefore, traffic intensity along the main transport routes in Riga and car age structure could be selected as the indicators.

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